need info on stay n travel round europe

I'm looking for information on trvaeeling across europe for between 16-18 days. I live in Dubai and my friends r joining me from bombay. So thers about 4 of us. We'll probably be getting return tickets to and from msterdam. The countries that we're lookin to knock off are italy, spain(madrid) and france (paris). I wanted to know the best way to budg evrerything and keep it cheap. Any info on staying and travel through these cities and in them will be much appreciated.

1) Focus on one country. France maybe, since it is close.2) Go in the off season, April and October are particularly good.3) Try to find relatives and friends where you can stay for free. Alternatively use your transport as overnight accomodation: Either with Eurail and nighttrains, or with a private used car you bought for a few hundred EUR and tents. You would have to camp in the wild. 4) Buy your food in supermarkets and cook all your meals yourself. Drink tea or tap water instead of softdrinks or bottled water.

But most important, get your Schengen tourist visa first before you book the flight to Amsterdam.

Hi, for cheap plane tickets, try easyjet or ryanair, they fly from an to several places in holland to destinations in southern europe as well. for a cheap but long busride, check eurolines. Cheers, Michael.

Thanks a lot for the suggestions. I know what you mean about stickin to fewer countries and thats kinda been my concern. Def. gonna take advice on the travelling and buying food from supermarkets n stuff but i'd also like to know the cheapest ways to commute. We guys are planning on saving on the travel and kinda cutting loose on the partying. So if we were to go to the countires and the cities that i mentioned before, what would be a rough estimate bout the travelling, considering that it will be the cheapest route available. Also, how much chepaer or expensive is it to rent a car and move about between countries??

If I got your nationality right and you hold an Indian or Pakistani passport, your first and foremost concern should be a Schengen visa. Schengen tourist visa are very hard to get for young unmarried people from India or Pakistan.

For the visa process you'll be asked to show proof of enough funds to support yourself. The German government uses a figure of 45 EUR per day and person as a minumum, the French or Dutch will want to see similar. Note that this is very little money if you want to include transport in this figure.

You also want to party, which is expensive. At 4 EUR for a beer or 8 EUR for a simple drink going out is going to cost you an arm and a leg. If you only want to party, there are lots of places in Europe or the World where you can do this cheaper than in Amsterdam or Paris. British and Germans like to take the cheap flights from Easyjet and ryanair to the Baltic states (Riga, Tallinn) for party because the beer is cheap there and they can have 10 for the price of one at home. Other popular partying spots are Siofok in Hungary and the Balearean Islands of Spain (Mallorca, Ibiza).

If you want to do this as cheaply as possible, renting a car is prohibitive for you too. You best find somebody (a friend of a friend) who is willing to loan you a car for a small favour.

Renting a small car will be around 60-100 EUR per day plus cost for fuel. (Currently at 1.20 EUR per litre.) There are weekly rates, a car that will seat 4 people for longer distances starts at 400 EUR for a week. For this money you could buy an old used car and sell it again when you leave!